Takin
Budorcas taxicolor Hodgson, 1850
The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Caprini, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a giant animal by adult body mass, with a representative weight of 302 kg, and is a diurnal, terrestrial herbivore of forest habitat.
Quick facts about the takin
Gestation lasts 235.6 days, with 1 young per litter at the low end (representative value 1.17) and 1 litter per year. The IUCN Red List classifies the takin as Vulnerable, a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 19.58 years, with values up to 21.9 years.
- Weight
- 294.5 kg – 302 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 19.6 years – 21.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 213 days – 244 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1 – 1.17src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the takin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the takin live?
Not recorded
What is the takin?
The takin (Budorcas taxicolor); is a large species of ungulate of the subfamily Caprinae found in the eastern Himalayas. It includes three subspecies, the Mishmi takin (B. t. taxicolor), the golden takin (B. t. bedfordi), and the Bhutan takin (B. t. whitei), and is closely related to the Tibetan (or Sichuan) takin (B. tibetana).
Whilst the takin has in the past been placed together with the muskox in the tribe Ovibovini, more recent mitochondrial research shows a closer relationship to Ovis (sheep). Its physical similarity to the muskox is therefore an example of convergent evolution.
The takin is the national animal of Bhutan.
From the Wikipedia article “Takin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Takin&oldid=1379259410), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the takin endangered?
The takin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the takin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusBudorcas
- SpeciesBudorcas taxicolor Hodgson, 1850
Synonyms Budorcas taxicola, Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Cattle chamoisEnglish
- Cattle chamoisEnglish
- Gnu goatEnglish
- Gnu goatEnglish
- Goat antelopeEnglish
- Goat antelopeEnglish
- Goat oxEnglish
- Goat oxEnglish
- Himalayan takinEnglish
- Mishmi takinEnglish
- Mishmi takinEnglish
- طاكنArabic
- طخيمArabic
- شامواه بقريArabic
- ماعز جنوArabic
- ར་རྒྱTibetan
- GnuziegeGerman
- Mishmi-TakinGerman
- RindergemseGerman
- ΤακίνGreek
- TakinoEsperanto
- TakínSpanish
- takiniFinnish
- טאקיןHebrew
- टाकिनHindi
- ターキンJapanese
- 타킨Korean
- TakinasLithuanian
- GnugeitNorwegian Bokmål
- takin złotyPolish
- ТакинRussian
- ทาคินThai
- بۇرما مۈڭگۈزلۈك بۆكەنUyghur
- ТакінUkrainian
- 羚牛Chinese
- 喜馬拉雅扭角羚Chinese
- 喜马拉雅扭角羚Chinese
- 扭角羚Chinese
Relatives of the takin
Other species in the same genus Budorcas.
CompareTakin vs Chinese takinTakin vs Golden takinTakin vs Bhutan takin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a takin?
The takin is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the tribe Caprini, within the order Artiodactyla. Other English names for it include goat ox, gnu goat, Mishmi takin, goat antelope and cattle chamois.
How heavy is a takin?
An adult takin has a representative body mass of 302 kg, which places it in the giant size class (adult body mass over 250 kg).
What does a takin eat?
The takin is a herbivore.
What habitat does the takin live in?
The takin lives in forest habitat. It is terrestrial and active during the day.
Is the takin endangered?
The takin is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a takin live?
The takin's lifespan is given as 19.58 years, with values reported up to 21.9 years.
Who named the takin?
The takin was named Budorcas taxicolor by Hodgson, 1850.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Takin (Budorcas taxicolor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/takin
“Takin (Budorcas taxicolor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/takin.
@misc{takin_2026,
title = {Takin (Budorcas taxicolor)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/takin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}